heart attack
nounDefinition of heart attack
: an acute episode of coronary heart disease marked by the death or damage of heart muscle due to insufficient blood supply to the heart usually as a result of a coronary artery becoming blocked by a blood clot formed in response to a ruptured or torn fatty arterial deposit
Note: Symptoms of heart attack include discomfort or pain in the chest, shoulder, arm, back, neck, or jaw, shortness of breath, dizziness or light-headedness, heartburn, nausea, excessive sweating, and extreme fatigue.
— called also myocardial infarction
Examples of heart attack in a Sentence
Her chest pains turned out to be caused by a minor heart attack.
He died of a massive heart attack.
Recent Examples on the Web
James Gandolfini died of a heart attack at the age of 51 in 2013. — Cydney Henderson, USA TODAY, "James Gandolfini's son Michael never watched 'The Sopranos' before he was cast in prequel," 13 Aug. 2019 Steven Kirshenbaum died of a heart attack Sept. 4, 2017 at the age of 37. — Alexandra Kukulka, chicagotribune.com, "8 friends create scholarship for Glenbrook North students in honor of their late classmate," 13 Aug. 2019 After high school, and after her father died of a heart attack, Ms. Rojas returned to New York, where she was born. — Annie Correal, New York Times, "‘She Was Like You and Me’: A Death and Life in the Bronx Opioid Crisis," 9 Aug. 2019 In 1995, Jerry Garcia, lead singer of the Grateful Dead, died in Forest Knolls, Calif., of a heart attack at age 53. — BostonGlobe.com, "This day in history," 9 Aug. 2019 The original 1999 conductor, Michael Kamen, died in 2003 of a heart attack. — Rania Aniftos, Billboard, "Metallica to Screen 'S&M2' Concert Film in Theaters Across the Globe," 31 July 2019 Appearing to be unconscious, Lockett woke up and thrashed around before dying of a heart attack 43 minutes later. — Josiah Bates, Time, "Why the Justice Department's Plan to Use a Single Drug for Lethal Injections Is Controversial," 29 July 2019 Their father died of a heart attack before they were born, but their uncle and grandfather are on hand to help. — Lianne Kolirin, CNN, "Sisters conjoined at the head are separated after 50 hours of surgery," 16 July 2019 The day after Santa Anita announced racing would continue, the horse Truffalino died of a heart attack. — John Cherwa, latimes.com, "New California law gives racing board the ability to act quickly," 26 June 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'heart attack.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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